Does It Hurt?

The second most posed question when people come in for an acupuncture treatment is, “Does it hurt?” My favorite response: My five year old daughter asks for it. She gets off the bus, chucks her backpack to the ground, raises her little, exasperated hands to her head and says, “Mom! I had a SO, SO stressful day!” (In kindergarten;) “ I need my achoopunture! I want Yintang and my stomach points.” Which are actually on her legs, as she point to them. She gets into her comfy spot, does her yoga breathing and after 3 teeny acupuncture needles, she usually falls asleep within minutes!

Right away, the body starts producing the calming, feel-good endorphins, such as, serotonin and oxytocin, so people start relaxing. If there is pain, the anti-inflammatories that start getting released begin to soothe the pain. For example, the young babies that have been brought in by their parents for care, respond with curiosity when the teeny acupuncture needles get inserted, for such things as constipation. No tears, no crying! And, because children are amazingly efficient at healing, they have typically had a bowel movement within minutes to hours, after struggling from painful constipation for days. Happy little one = happy parent!

If the little people stories didn’t convince you, that acupuncture is more relaxing than painful, our furry friends, even the bald ones;) love to get treatments. My golden chomped a bumblebee one time, out in the boonies, on a Sunday. Within a very few minutes her face started swelling up and she was gasping for breath, as I can only guess the bee probably stung her somewhere in her throat. Knowing I didn’t have access to a vet within miles on a Sunday, and only being a student of acupuncture at the time, I wasn’t yet experienced with the effects of acupuncture but I was too scared not to try. Two little needles in her paws to treat the face and throat and Yintang again, my daughter’s favorite point, and within minutes my pup was breathing normally with her face swelling dissipating!

Granted, golden retrievers are pretty chill in general but at no point did she try to get the needles out or off or even react in pain, so it must have hurt a lot less than that bee sting.

I’m sharing these stories in hopes to alleviate some of the fear that people have around acupuncture because a lot of people could benefit from the efficacy of these treatments. Acupuncture is the oldest clinical medicine in the world & it reminds the body how to heal itself: It helps people to be pain-free, avoid surgery, and treat illness and disease. It restores homeostasis within the body, with a sense of calm balance. It’s very effective and efficient with the right prescription series for each person.

Don’t let the fear of needles hold you back from getting what you need to be healthier! Find yourself a properly educated acupuncture physician (Google nccaom.Org); find someone that you feel comfortable with and trust, and go experience how strong & balanced you are truly able to feel. And don’t forget to ask for Yintang;).